


The Black Spider

by KeldvokWrites



Category: Spider-Man - All Media Types
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-25
Updated: 2020-09-25
Packaged: 2021-03-07 15:53:46
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 750
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26640211
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/KeldvokWrites/pseuds/KeldvokWrites
Summary: As the black liquid-like material enveloped his arms and legs, he held back the instinct to scream, biting his tongue hard enough to draw blood. What happened next shook him to his core: The darkness spoke.
Comments: 6
Kudos: 11





	The Black Spider

The first time he saw Spider-Man, he felt like he could breathe again. Something about the way that he carried himself, so selflessly helping others, made him believe in heroes again.

Flash had given up faith in the police long ago (It doesn’t take long in New York to realize just _how_ many officers are on the take), and his relationship with the military was…complicated. He had heard a recruiter’s pitch a dozen times, but all it did was remind him of his father’s “physical discipline” and desire for him to “be a real man and join the service” like he had.

 _Always so Angry_. In a way, he wondered if that was where it started. Always so angry; every time he felt himself keeping his emotions under control, a snide comment would be all it took to pull his pin, and off he’d go, blowing up everything and everyone in a ten-mile radius. Not Spider-Man though, that’s a Real Hero: Calm, Cool, Collected, always quick with a quip, and smarter than the super-powered thugs that terrorized the city.

 _“If only I could be like that”_ , he wondered aloud, drawing the attention of Mr. Grant at the front of the classroom.

“Mr. Thompson, are you listening? We were just going over the works of Gotthelf, if you’re interested in contributing.”

“Ha, like Flash knows how to read”, a voice from the back of the class opined. Laughter felt like buzzing in his ears, its mocking tone striking like a bell tolling disaster. He bit his tongue.

“Sorry about that, Teach. Long day at work yesterday. Unlike _SOME people_ , I have to work for a living” he retorted, towards the gaggle of prep students dressed in clothing brands Flash couldn’t _pronounce_ , let alone afford.

He had been forced to sell his old comics just to afford the letter jacket that kept him from being a pariah in the social circles that the football team ran in on the weekends after the game. He remembered the look of understanding mixed with disappointment on the run-down shop owner’s face as Flash walked in the door, carrying the books that he had helped the boy pick out over the years. The store had become a safe haven for Flash when his father proved to be overwhelming and wanted to journey into mystery, and they had spent countless hours talking about the latest and greatest, taking up as much table space as a slice of pizza and a soda could afford.

“Well, Flash, as someone who ALSO has to work for a living, if you could pay attention during my class, that would be appreciated.”

“Yes sir.”

* * *

Flash remembered those comics from his youth well: An ordinary person given power by some artifact or a cocktail of toxic chemicals spewed haphazardly one night in a lab; He just never thought it would happen to him while working on the docks one late September evening.

As the black liquid-like material enveloped his arms and legs, he held back the instinct to scream, biting his tongue hard enough to draw blood. What happened next shook him to his core: The darkness spoke.

“Flash Thompson, we have need of you.”

“We? Who is ‘We’? What’s going on here?” Flash sputtered, unsure if he was speaking directly to the void, or wishing he was.

“We are Venom.”

Flash felt his jaw tense in anger and confusion but figured that arguing with the creature currently absorbing his abdomen was a losing proposition.

“Okay, you’ve got me. What now?”

“We want The Spider. You know much of him, and you will take us to him.”

Flash laughed derisively. “Spider-Man? What makes you think I know anything about him?”

“We have been watching you, Flash Thompson. We have heard you calling into that infernal Jameson’s radio program, to mock him for daring to slander The Spider. We have seen you use your electronic device to help connect others to The Spider. Oh yes, Flash Thompson, we know your love for The Spider. Will you take us to him, or will we have to make you?”

Flash felt his head swimming, his mind and body both acclimating rapidly to the gravity of the situation. His body felt heavier, less restrained _. Powerful_.

“I’ll do it.”

 _Spider-Man will know what to do. He’s a Hero, and he’s fought plenty of things like this before. Hang in there, Spidey, I’ll do what I can from here,_ Flash told himself, defiant.

“Oh, this should be interesting.”

**Author's Note:**

> Come chat with me on Tumblr! [@KeldvokWrites](https://www.tumblr.com/blog/keldvok)


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